Hope's Birthday
by cheri1
Summary: Part of my Something Old and New Series. Alan and Rose take Hope out to breakfast on her birthday when things go awry.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Hope slowly opened her eyes and a smile spread over her face. Today was her ninth birthday and she was so excited. In the past, her family always threw her a huge party with lots of gifts, food and fun and she was looking forward to more of the same. She sat up in bed and swung her legs over the side of the bed, pausing a moment to listen for her mother and father's voices. She frowned when after a minute of intense listening, she couldn't hear anything. The house was completely silent, even the dogs were silent. Hope looked at her Little Mermaid clock on the table beside her bed. It was just after eight in the morning on a Saturday. Normally, her mother was fixing breakfast and laughing and joking with her father. She got out of bed and dressed herself quickly, choosing blue jeans and a light blue t-shirt with a rainbow on it. She walked downstairs, expecting to see her parents but there was still no sign of activity anywhere in the house. She paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked around before heading towards the garage door. Opening it, she stepped into the garage and noticed the TARDIS was gone. Her heart sank when she realized her parents must have taken it somewhere. Her parents had recently allowed her to be alone while they were out on short errands and she enjoyed the fact that they put so much trust in her. Still, she wished they could have let her know in case she wanted to go with them. She headed back inside and shut the door behind her. She walked through the house until she walked into the kitchen and noticed a note on the kitchen table. She walked over to the table and picked up the note, recognizing her father's handwriting.

Love,

Mum and I took the dogs to get their yearly checkup at the vet. Be back soon. Behave.

The Doctor.

P.S. I forget to mention. Uncle Alan is coming round to get some papers in my office that I left for him. Probably will be at the house at eight past. Let him in. Love you.

P.S.S. Have some cereal and milk and juice for your breakfast. Still love you.

Hope put the note back on the table. Going to the veterinarian sounded boring but still, she missed hearing them say happy birthday and getting good morning kisses from them. And her father didn't mention her birthday in the note. She knew he could be forgetful at times so she hoped he hadn't forgotten her special day. She walked to the fridge and opened it, pulling out the milk and juice. She was fixing a bowl of Cheerios when she heard a knock at the door. She walked to the front door and opened it.

"Busy, busy, busy, can't be bothered to chat," Alan said, tapping his foot and eyeing her. "Must retrieve the secret plans to the Doomsday Device so step aside."

"Doomsday Device? Seriously?" Hope said as she stepped aside to let him in.

"I am always serious," Alan said imperiously as he stepped into the house. "Now! Where is your parental unit's office?"

Hope closed the door behind him. Instead of answering, she stood there and waited for him to acknowledge her birthday. Alan stared back, his foot tapping on the carpet.

"Have you gone deef, woman? I said, where is the office?" he said after thirty seconds of silence.

"You forget something?" Hope prompted.

"Um…Apparently, I forgot to smack your head to get you to move towards the office," Alan said. "Otherwise, why would you be standing here in front of me being inert and nonproductive?"

"What's today?" Hope prompted.

"Your funeral if you don't get movin' and retrieve the papers I require."

"No! It's my birthday!" Hope said.

"I know that, you silly goose. Now get moving and get what I require!"

Alan smirked at the exasperated expression on Hope's face and he caught her up in a huge hug.

"Ah, happy birthday, little one!" he said as Hope held him tightly. "Many happy returns of the day. Now will you get the papers I require?"

He put Hope down and he walked with her to her father's office at the back of the house.

"Daddy and Mummy took the dogs to the vets this morning," Hope said as they walked. "They were gone when I woke up so you're the first to say happy birthday."

"Goody! I like being first!" Alan said happily. "So I s'pose we'll have to have a huge shindig for you tonight?"

"I hope so," Hope said.

When they reached the closed door of her father's office, Hope opened the door and both of them went inside. Normally, she wasn't allowed inside because her father was usually preoccupied with developing new ideas or building things. There was massive clutter everywhere and she wondered how her father knew where everything was. They walked over to a large oak desk and Hope saw a large grey folder on the desk in the middle of it. Alan's name was printed on the front of it and Hope handed it to Alan. Alan thanked her and opened the folder, perusing the printouts for a moment while Hope watched.

"Is it a doomsday device?" she asked him.

"No, it's a spanking machine. We're gonna build it and use you as the test dummy," Alan said.

"Yeah, right," Hope said, rolling her eyes while Alan giggled.

"No, it's just a few ideas your old dad had for projects. You know we're always inventing stuff and nonsense," Alan said, closing the folder.

Hope nodded. She knew her father and uncle traded ideas back and forth about different ideas, theories and projects, especially when it came to helping make their home world a better place to live. She followed Alan out of the office and closed the door behind them. Her heart sank when she realized Alan would probably leave and go back home and she would be alone and bored until her parents got home. But Alan stopped by the kitchen doorway and stared in at it in thought. Hope walked up beside him and noticed he was staring at her cereal, milk and juice on the table.

"Is that what you were eating?" he asked, pointing to it.

"Yeah. They told me to have cereal for breakfast," Hope said.

"On your birthday? Unacceptable! You shall join me in Daisy and we'll find a nice restaurant. You need a proper birthday breakfast."

Hope grinned from ear to ear. Alan told her to wait for him while he went to his house and dropped off the file and retrieved his TARDIS. When he left, Hope put some plastic wrap on top of her cereal bowl, saving it for later. She hurriedly gulped down her milk and juice while she waited for her uncle to arrive and washed out the glasses, putting them on the counter beside the sink. She was going to head into the living room before she decided to leave a note for her parents. She found the notepad and pen beside the fridge and jotted down a quick note.

Mum and Dad,

Uncle Alan is taking me somewhere for a birthday breakfast so I'll see you soon. Love you.

Hope.

She put the note on the table next to her parent's note and hurried into the living room to wait for her uncle to arrive.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(One hour later…)

The Doctor opened the garage door and stepped aside to let their corgis enter.

"Alright, inside, you lot," he said to the yapping dogs before he and his wife entered the living room. "Good job you both are in perfect health so I don't have to spend extra credits on your care. You eat us out of house and home as it is."

"Hope! We're home!" Rain called out as the Doctor shut the door.

They stopped and listened for a moment but they heard nothing. The Doctor looked at his wife and shrugged.

"Sleeping in?" he said.

"Yes. Well, it's time to get up and come have breakfast," Rain said before heading upstairs.

The Doctor headed towards the kitchen, wondering if his daughter had seen the note and let Alan in. Alan would have let himself in if she'd still been asleep. But all the same, it seemed strange that she was sleeping in since she loved to rise early and join them in their daily routine. He walked into the kitchen and froze when he saw the second note. He picked it up and read it, freezing when he saw the word birthday.

"She's not in her room," Rain said, entering the kitchen. "I don't know where she is."

"It's her birthday today?" the Doctor said, handing the note to her.

"Yeah, you didn't know that, Thete?" Rain said as she took the note from him and read it.

"I…"

"You forgot," Rain finished for him.

"Well, I'm always traveling and I sometimes forget what day it is. Blast, if I'd known, I would have woken her up before we left and wished her happy birthday," the Doctor said with an angry sigh.

"Don't sweat it, hon. We'll see her when she gets back," Rain said, setting the note down on the table. "In the meantime, relax and do whatever you need to do. I'll feed the dogs and get some breakfast going."

The Doctor nodded and smiled when she kissed his cheek. He sat down at the kitchen table and focused his mind on his daughter, reaching out and connecting to her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hope sat beside Rose while they watched Alan fly his TARDIS. They were headed to a secret destination, something Alan had selected for a birthday breakfast. Hope was brimming with excitement and wondered where they were going. While she watched him, she suddenly got an image in her mind's eye of her father's remorseful face.

_I'm sorry I didn't wish you happy birthday. I forget,_ he thought to her. _Forgive me?_

_I forgive you, Daddy. I gave Uncle Alan the stuff in the folder and he's taking me and Aunt Rose somewhere for my birthday. _

_Good, we'll be here when you return and all of us will do something fun, _he thought to her.

Hope felt a warmth in her mind as her father sent her some mental love. She had been correct about him forgetting her birthday but she knew he was busy with many things and had many responsibilities and had many things weighing on his mind. She knew he and her mother would more than make up for it when she got back home. He may be forgetful sometimes but she knew he loved her and he was upset that he didn't think of her birthday without her help. Her father told her to have fun before she felt his mind pulling away from hers. Basking in the aftereffects of the love touch, she settled back against the seat and waited for Daisy to land.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

(Torchwood, Cardiff…)

Jack Harkness took a sip of coffee as he sat in his office. He was reading a report from PC Andy about a recent attack in downtown Cardiff. According to the report, there were ghostlike things attacking people. They appeared to be ghosts but they had seriously injured three people, putting all of them in the hospital. Whatever the things were, they had claws. His team was compiling data, checking the rift and preparing to go out and confront whatever these things were. It was going to be a grueling day and Jack hoped they could finish up in time to go back home for Hope's birthday party.

While he read the report, he felt the Doctor nudging at his mind and he opened it, allowing him entry. He was not officially a Time Lord since he didn't want to give up his immortality so he didn't have the morass of consciousness that everyone else did. But the Doctor did teach him to shield his mind from unwanted telepathic intrusions after someone took control of it and tried to use him as an assassin so now anyone that needed to speak to him had to psychically knock first.

_Yes,_ he thought to the Doctor.

_It's Hope's birthday, did you know that,_ the Doctor thought back.

_Of course I did,_ Jack thought. _We are trying to track down these wraith creatures but we're hoping to be back in time for the party tonight. _

_I…forgot, _the Doctor thought sheepishly_. I wouldn't have known if my daughter hadn't left a note for me. Alan and Rose took her to get a birthday breakfast while me and the wife took the dogs to the vet for a checkup. I feel embarrassed now._

_Eh, I forget birthdays all the time, _Jack thought to him.

_You didn't forget Hope's birthday._

_Only because she reminded me a few days ago. Otherwise, I would have forgot. _

_Well, I feel a bit better now. Anyway, hope to see you and the others at the party tonight._

_We'll be there. If not all of us, some of us, _Jack said.

The Doctor wished him luck and Jack put the mental barrier back up when he felt the Doctor's mind retreating.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Okay! Here we are!" Alan said when Daisy landed and powered down. "Are you ready for a birthday feast?"

"Yes!" Hope said as she and Rose stood up.

"And you," he said, pointing to Rose. "Are you ready for mush or perhaps some gruel or something. I can't pay for both of you!"

"In that case, I'll wait till you leave, take Daisy and go somewhere else on my own," Rose said.

"And touch my ship! Are you nuts, woman?" Alan said, thrusting his arms out while Hope giggled. "No one touches my ship but me! You are not even to breathe on…OI!" Alan said when Hope ran up and put her finger on a lever on the console. "I just said…"

He tousled her hair when she giggled and beckoned for her and Rose to follow him. He went to the door, opened it and peeked out before he opened it fully. The TARDIS had landed in the middle of an alley, next to a dumpster filled with trash bags. Alan stopped Hope and Rose when they started to walk past him.

"Wait!" he said to Hope. "See this?" he said, pointing to the dumpster.

"Yeah," Hope said, staring at it.

"See this?" he said, pointing to one of the trash bags.

"Yes," Hope said, looking at it.

"This…is a rubbish skip and a bin bag. And that concludes your birthday adventure, nothing more to see here, get back inside!" he said as he tried to shove Hope back inside Daisy.

"No! I want to see more!" Hope yelled as Rose stepped back and watched them with a grin.

"I can't let that happen!" Alan said dramatically as he playfully shoved her towards the TARDIS. "Already, I've overloaded your mind with too much sensory input. If I show you something else, it might go ker-splody and then I'll have to pay for your funeral. That is, if I live long enough to pay for it. Now, back inside, missy!"

Hope spun around and tried to run past him and squealed when Alan grabbed her from behind and held her against his body in a tight bear hug.

"No!" he yelled as Hope squealed with delight. "Friends don't let friends go ker-splody!"

"Help, Aunt Rose! I wanna see more than a bin bag today!" Hope yelled as Alan held her close to his body.

"Don't interfere, spousal unit, or you'll be celebrating our divorce on the same day as her birthday!" Alan said to Rose.

"Here, let me," Rose said, walking towards Alan.

Hope giggled when Alan gave her a wary look.

"Be warned, I will go kung-fu on your arse if you interfere," Alan said to her. "I will be shoving my fists of fury in your face if you try to stop me from preventing ker-splody!"

"See, in order to make him docile, you have to hit the docile button on top of his head," Rose said to Hope. "Watch."

She mimed pressing a button on top of Alan's head and Hope giggled when a wide-eyed blank look came over Alan's face and he let go of Hope before standing at rigid attention.

"See, docile button," Rose said to Hope while Hope giggled. "Had it installed under his skull ages ago so he'd obey when I needed him to. But he doesn't know about it because I did it in his sleep so don't tell him when he snaps out of it."

"Okay, Aunt Rose," Hope said.

"Now, what were you saying?" Rose said sweetly to Alan.

"I was saying that obedience is desirable," Alan said in a monotone voice. "Obedience is the ultimate goal. I love to obey."

"Good," Rose said while Hope laughed harder. "Now…take us somewhere so we can have our breakfast."

"I will obey because obedience is good," Alan said in his monotone voice. "Obedience is the ultimate goal. I…"

Alan began to quiver as he stared into space with wide eyes.

"Must…break…free of…control," Alan said in a pained voice while Hope sniggered. "Must…fight…docile…button."

"He's fighting it, Aunt Rose," Hope said, pointing to Alan.

"Well, then I need to initiate Plan B then," Rose said to her.

"What's that?" Hope said.

She howled with laughter when Rose gave Alan a swift kick in the butt at the same time she yelled, "OBEY!"

"Ow, you mean thing," Alan said, glaring at his wife while he rubbed his butt. "Well, turnabout is fair play then!"

Hope squealed with laughter when Alan chased his wife out of the alleyway.

"Wait for me!" Hope yelled while she chased after them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor sat on the sofa in his living room and stared into space, deep in thought. He felt bad for forgetting his daughter's birthday but it'd only been a couple of centuries since he started keeping track of birthdays on a regular basis. Before that, he really hadn't bothered. He had celebrated his companion's birthdays when they traveled with them but that was only when they bothered to tell him what day it was. He didn't make anyone fill out a data sheet when they came on board the TARDIS and he had long since forgotten the date of his own birthday, which was why he celebrated it on Valentine's Day when his wife had hers. Not to mention the fact that he had so many children, it was hard to keep track of all of them and then there was the constant burden of being a Time Lord and trying to keep the universe running as smoothly as he could make it along with Xashon and the council and their concerns.

"Blimey, it's a wonder I remember the names of my family at all with everything going on in my life," he said to himself.

Still, he couldn't help but beat himself up as he was wont to do. It was embarrassing to him, especially since everyone around him remembered. He had spoken to most of his family by telepathy and they were getting the party ready which filled him with relief. If it'd been left to him, nothing would have gotten done and they'd be eating sandwiches and tea.

Not to mention, he needed to find a gift to give his daughter. He wanted to give her something special and he was wracking his brain, trying to think of something when he heard a knock on the front door. He was going to get up to get it when the door opened and Tara peeked inside.

"Hey, Daddy," she said as stepped inside. "How's tricks?"

"Tricks are progressing normally, daughter. How's tricks with you," he said as she turned and shut the door behind her.

"Tricks are progressing normally," she answered before walking over to kiss him. "We're getting Hope's party ready. When are you and Mom going to be coming?"

"When I stop feeling guilty for forgetting my own daughter's birthday so it may be several days," he said while Tara bent down to kiss his cheek.

"Oh, Daddy, it isn't the first time you've forgotten. Don't linger on it. You have eight kajillion family members, you know."

"Don't remind me. Things were simpler when I was just me and a few friends traveling time and space," he said before he kissed her back. "I wasn't required to remember the birthdays of half a planet's population then."

"What are you getting Hope for her birthday?" Tara said.

"Dunno. Thinking that over now. Alan and Rose took her to get breakfast so I might pop out while she's gone and find something."

"Get her a puppy, she'll love you forever," Tara said over her shoulder as she went to find her mother.

"We have puppies. I just took them to the vet this morning," the Doctor said to her as she left the room. "The problem is she's growing up so fast, I'm not sure what to get her."

"She'll love whatever you get her, Daddy," he heard her say as she walked down the hallway. "Just relax and don't sweat it."

The Doctor nodded but he went back to thinking. He could hear his wife greeting their daughter somewhere in the back of the house and he smiled, thinking how much his family had enriched his life. He shuddered to think what might have happened if he never had them in his life, probably would still be the Valeyard's slave now or dead if the Valeyard ran out of uses for him. They were special to him and he wanted them to have special gifts. He continued to think, vaguely aware of his wife and daughter laughing at the back of the house. Then his eyes widened and he grinned when he suddenly had an idea for the perfect gift. He leapt up from the sofa and ran towards the back of the house to share his idea with his family members.


End file.
